Page 11 of The Dragon's Perfect Omega
I snorted. “The one you told me wasn’t very good?”
“The one you said you liked.” He grinned at me. “What was your favorite song? When you could tear yourself away from staring at the cover art.”
“Let me think.” I leaned back against the wall opposite the bed. “I guess I likedFreedom Fighters.”
Lowen’s smile turned victorious. It was stunning. “Yeah, I wrote that one.”
“Those were good lyrics.” Primarily the song was about breaking out of the box society tried to force you into. Something I often thought about doing even if I was never going to. I guess you could say it was a favorite fantasy of mine.
Lowen’s gaze turned distant for a moment, making me wonder whatheassociated with the song. What he’d been thinking about when he wrote it. I didn’t have to wonder for long. “My parents are deep into religion, you know,” he said after a moment.
“Of that, um… dragon religion?” I blushed a little, realizing I didn’t know its proper name.
“It’s called Cintoism. Cinis is Latin for ash. It’s where we come from and where we return to. But you don’t have to know that.” He waved his hand. “There’s tons of human stuff I don’t understand. Like why plane tickets are so ridiculously expensive.”
“Because we don’t have wings,” I pointed out.
He made a dismissive gesture as if to say not to confuse him with facts when his opinion was solid. “You make me buy plane tickets even though I have wings.”
I scratched the back of my neck. I'd never really thought about the fact that we made dragons—creatures with wings—buy plane tickets because we forbade them from shifting on our territory. The whole thingwaskind of ridiculous when you thought about it, really. "I'm sorry about that. I don't have too much influence on our law makers."
"No, I wouldn't expect you to. Not that it matters much. Even if you let me fly using my own wings, there aren't too many countries friendly toward foreign dragons. It's one of the reasons I hope the band becomes more popular."
"So you get to tour?" I couldn't help but wonder why he was telling me all this. I'd been so sure he invited me up here to fuck, yet he hadn't made a move—which was probably for the best. I might have run screaming.
"So they let me visit without forcing me to take pills that suppress my dragon. Do you have any idea how degrading that is? Like I’m some blood lusty animal that needs to be caged. My dragon form is just as much me as this form is. I’m not going to lock it away.” He scowled as if his pride was hurt by the mere suggestion. There was something wild in his eyes that reminded me of the beast within, resting below the surface.
It shouldn’t have aroused me, but it did.
Focus on the conversation, Zim.
“I’m sorry,” I said because I didn’t know what else to say. “I don’t travel much either. I'm kind of scared of planes.”
He nodded at this. "I guess they can be kind of scary when you don't have wings in case something goes wrong."
"Yeah, I'd be screwed."
"Not if you travel with a dragon.” A suggestive note colored his voice.
Wait, was that an invitation? We hardly even knew each other.
"You don't have to look so shocked," he said. "I'm just teasing you. Seriously, though, dragons are the best travel mates."
"Okay, I'll look into getting one. How much do they go for on the black market?"
"Oh, lots of money. Dragons really like their gold."
"That's not just a dumb stereotype?"
"I'm afraid not." He shook his head and then he patted the spot on the bed next to him. "You don't have to keep standing there. It doesn't seem comfortable. I promise I don't bite.Thatis a dumb stereotype. We’re not half as violent as you make us out to be."
"I'm not scared of dragons," I said boldly, realizing too late that this assessment meant I had to go sit next to him. Biting my teeth together, I lowered my butt to the bed. I couldn't figure this guy out. Did he really just want to sit here with me and talk?
"I didn't think you were scared. Just a little apprehensive, maybe? That's okay. You don't know me. I'm really surprised you took me up on my invitation."
"Yeah, me too," I said before I could stop myself. “I mean, I wasn't sure I was gonna. I guess I was curious." That was an understatement. Whatever had carried me up here was a lot more intense than mere curiosity. "I have to say I didn't quite expect... this." I gestured at us, sitting on the bed.
"What do you mean?" Lowen asked, even though he had to know. He only wanted to make me say it.
